213To KenjiApex: I'll definitely give Naofumi some funny reactions once we reach that point where Guinevere meeting Arthur. The same thing goes for Motoyasu.
To T.V. 2000: As always, thank you so much for your kind words and productive comments. Yui's lie detecting ability would be a great addition for later chapters, so I'll definitely implement that.
Kirito talking some sense to Ren might not be as easy as it sounds, especially since this version of Ren still haven't been hammered by reality like the one in the most recent anime Season. But yes, compared to Motoyasu and Itsuki, Ren will be much easier to handle.
As for Ginny's attire, I could only request that we just roll with the punches and imagine what you prefer her outfit should be. If you prefer her to be barefooted, then I have no problem with it.
To AnimeFan13579: Ohhh, the three stooges are definitely going to get a tongue lashing once we reach the part where their blunders are completely shown for everyone to see. Get ready for the fireworks!
4th ANNIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENT:
I was just informed recently that, after 4 years of the Fanfic "Blue Rose Sword Hero" 's existence, it has finally gotten a slot in the site TVtropes!
Thank you so much CodeTalker69 for giving us the honor of having BRSH and it's Reaction Spin-off recognized in that site. I hope you continue to support these two fanfics despite their flaws and possibly update the TVtrope site whenever new chapters are uploaded in the future.
This is once again a joint effort between me and my fellow author Arementi Revnant. We hope you all enjoy this chapter.
191 Reviews, 440 Favorites, 497 Follows
The first thing Eugeo and Kirin did after eating their breakfast was going straight for the Slave/Monster Merchant's tent. The man who owned the place was named Beloukas, a short man who wears a traditional circus ringmaster's tuxedo, glasses with a small chain attached, white alchemist gloves, long top hat, and a red bow tie with a small diamond brooch in its center. He had a small, old-fashioned handlebar mustache and wears a somewhat sinister, omnipresent grin on his face.
Eugeo could feel the Legendary Sword started to shiver as Alice felt really creeped out. Not only for Beloukas' appearance, but also because Alice could somewhat sense the man's twisted sense of morals. Kirin was not doing any better as the swordswoman had subconsciously been keeping Eugeo between her and the man the moment they had entered the merchant's tent.
The audience, especially the female half of the viewers, were also affected by the fat man's creepy demeanor.
Yui leaned toward her parents for comfort, feeling incredibly disturbed by the ominous aura that the man was exuding. Kirito and Asuna protectively held their little girl in their arms as they leered angrily at the immoral man being shown onscreen. Alice wasn't any different as she fondly caressed her little niece-figure's head while also glaring at the man that unfortunately reminded her of Chudelkin.
Filo wasn't feeling any better as she leaned against Melty for moral support, something the bluenette was more than happy to give. Providing her with some gentle hugs and head pats to remedy Filo's distress.
On the other hand, Naofumi and Raphtalia could only feel conflicted by the fat man's introduction. Because, as much as they also despised the deplorable practice in any given society, it was also the reason why they first met in the first place. Leaving them confused on how they should feel about this.
The two royals sitting amongst them weren't feeling too hot either, as the Queen and Princess of Melromarc lowered their heads in shame for the legality of slavery in their country. And to make matters worse, despite their authority, prestige and desire for reforms, they were being hindered in every turn by the human supremacists that plagued the noble houses. All they could do is hope that their more discrete efforts of dismantling slavery would eventually bear fruit if nurtured and given enough time.
As for the three stooges, things were a bit more complicated (as usual) as they all possessed varying opinions and degrees of disapproval regarding the topic. The only similarity being that their choice of priorities were askewed, perfectly reflecting on their respective personality issues and shortcomings.
Itsuki was apprehensive and disgusted by the practice being shown, seeing it as a distasteful injustice that must be purged, consequences be damned.
Motoyasu was on a similar vein, though he was more focused on the prospect of rescuing damsels in distress who are in need of a hero like him. Not really giving much thought of the long-lasting repercussions that it will cause to his own party's team dynamics.
Ren was a bit of the odd one out among the three as he felt detached from the plight that plagued this world's society. Even if he also finds slavery to be a deplorable practice, mostly due to his modern-day upbringing, he simply accepted it as a part of the game's lore. As long as it doesn't concern him, then it wasn't his problem to solve.
Eugeo could only be thankful that this merchant has the decency of erecting a tent that is separate from the slaves that he was selling. He wasn't really sure if he could handle the sight of Demi-Human lives being treated as nothing more than merchandise! Not to mention Alice for that matter!
"Aaahhh... I didn't expect to see another one of the Legendary Heroes to grace his presence in my humble establishment," Beloukas chirped in glee at the prospect of having a High standing customer, "So Legendary Sword Hero... how can I be of service to you?"
Eugeo managed to keep a straight face and answered, "I wish to purchase a Filolial egg, preferably one that is on the verge of hatching so it can immediately join my party. I plan to raise it quickly so it can fight by my side at the coming Wave."
"I see..." Beloukas mumbled as he rubbed his fingers, "If you don't mind, give me at least 5 minutes to check on my stock. If I'm not mistaken, there is one Filolial egg that's supposed to hatch today."
With that, the little man went to the main tent where he keeps the rest of his stocked merchandise, causing both girls to relax a little.
"Small mercies I guess," Kirito sighed in relief upon seeing the dividers that concealed the slaves from view.
"Yeah. At least the man has enough decency to segregate his unsavory business deals from his legitimate ones," Asuna added as she and her husband deemed it safe enough to relinquish their hold on their daughter.
"Agreed," Alice followed up with a stern nod.
Looking at one of the shelves, he noticed that it was lined up with quite a few bottles with some kind of liquid inside them. Activating his Appraisal Skill, Eugeo then saw that the purple bottles contained Slave Crest Ink while the grey bottles are filled with Slave Crest Cleanser.
Eugeo and Kirin then sensed that they were once again being watched, which Alice was quick to confirm, 'Eugeo, we have another Church spy. This time, it's a full-fledged Shadow since he's doing a better job in concealing his presence.'
Everyone in the audience froze in silence upon learning about the spy's presence. Even the airheaded Filo and the idiotic trio were aware of the seriousness of the situation. All the audience leaned forward ever so slightly, curious to see how the other Sword Hero was going to handle the situation.
'Alright... I'll be careful with what I say. It looks like listening to our conversations is all they can do now since peeping will blow their cover,' Eugeo mentally replied before turning to Kirin who was holding a pretty detailed World map towards him.
"Why don't we buy this map too before we go. It would be really useful once we leave Castle Town," Kirin suggested, knowing that they will be using it to navigate towards Rabier's Territory.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Eugeo nodded as an idea suddenly popped in his head. If his theory works, not only will navigating in this world be a whole lot easier, it will be an EXTREMELY useful ability in combating the waves.
Eugeo's out of the box idea raised a few eyebrows, some were positive while others not so much.
Kirito beamed with pride at his best friend's bizarre idea, as Eugeo once again did something that he himself would've done if he was in his place. Much to the amusement of his wife, friend and daughter as they also found Eugeo's emulation of Kirito's mindset to be very endearing.
Naofumi and Raphtalia as well as Melty and Mirellia were intrigued by Eugeo's broad way of approaching things. And that was saying something as Naofumi would unashamedly admit that he too has absorbed some truly unorthodox materials during his early days as an outcast hero. Leaving the quartet curious on what the blonde Sword Hero will be getting from all those maps.
"What good will that do?" Itsuki scoffed while crossing his arms at the big waste of time Eugeo is inflicting upon himself. Still firm in his belief that rarity is what defines strength in the Legendary Weapons.
"Do you think it will look like some weird Sword Origami?" Motoyasu chuckled at his own joke.
"Amateur..." Ren mumbled as he shook his head, quickly writing the soon to be unlocked swords as useless.
The duo soon heard footsteps as Beloukas returned with a Filolial egg already in an incubator, "Here it is Sir Sword Hero. I estimate that this Filolial egg is due to hatch in 4 hours."
Eugeo thanked the merchant and paid him the 100 silvers fee. But he then asked for 1 purple bottle, 1 grey bottle and all the types of maps he had. This really confused Beloukas but he still obeyed; he would still be getting paid for this after all. After getting the items that the Sword Hero asked for, Eugeo went to work absorbing all of them one by one. He soon got the notifications saying...
[Slave User's Sword Unlocked]
[Quality: Very Low - Base Attack: 8]
[Mastery: 0/15 - Resonance: 0%]
[Equip Bonus: Enhanced Slave Growth]
Level 5 Required
[Slave Cleanser's Sword Unlocked]
[Quality: Very Low - Base Attack: 0]
[Mastery: 0/10 - Resonance: 0%
[Equip Bonus: Crest Jamming Wave]
[Exclusive Ability: Slave Crest Cleanser]
Level 8 Required
[Map(Melromarc) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(Zeltoble) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(Siltvelt) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(Shieldfreeden) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(Q'ten Lo) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(Cal Mira) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(Faubrey) Sword Unlocked]
[Map(World Map) Sword Unlocked]
{Map Series Complete}
[Navigation Sword Unlocked]
[Quality: Unique - Base Attack: 30]
[Mastery: 0/60 - Resonance: 0%]
[Equip Bonus: 100 DEX]
[Exclusive Ability: Map Projection]
Level 30 Required
Eugeo's face began with a calm expression, not really surprised with the Equip Bonus he got from the Slave Crest Ink being boosting a slave's growth rate. His face turned into a smile when he saw that he can now disable the commands that are set in the Slave Crests for 1 hour with a simple swing of his sword using the {Crest Jamming Wave} and instantly destroy them when he slightly pricks the Crest with the sword's tip.
"I can't believe I never thought of that," Naofumi grumbled to himself as this was another missed opportunity for him. While its usefulness is situational, the Shielder could see the merits on how such a skill could be useful in certain specific scenarios.
Queen Mirellia and Princess Mirellia were both in the same vein as they quickly jotted down on their notes about this particular weapon form.
But when he finished absorbing all of the maps and received the completed Map Series, Eugeo's jaw dropped in pure shock when he read the Help menu's explanation. The resulting [Navigation Sword] was even better than what he could have ever hoped!
"Eugeo! What's wrong?!" Kirin yelled as she shook him out of his thoughts.
"I apologize if I'm imposing on your privacy but I'm really curious. What were you hoping to achieve by absorbing all this stuff into your Legendary Sword, Sir Hero?" Beloukas asked with the same creepy but noticeably curious smile.
'That man really freaks me out,' Alice commented, the Legendary Sword slightly quivering. Eugeo just chuckled before answering in a way that wouldn't alarm the Church and Aultcray of his future plans.
"To tell you the truth, I wasn't really expecting much," Eugeo admitted before explaining himself, "I was simply experimenting with as many items I can absorb into my sword as I possibly can. The swords that I got from the two bottles aren't very useful in combat, so I consider those a failure. But the ability that I got from absorbing all those Maps just made all that effort worth it. Now I will never ever get lost in this world ever again!"
Eugeo's enthusiasm over this newly unlocked sword left the audience quite curious. Even the three stooges, although they will never admit it, were now a tiny bit eager to learn what the seemingly weak sword form could do.
"Really?" Beloukas asked in confusion.
"So what extremely useful ability did you unlock this time Sir Eugeo? A map ability perhaps?" Kirin asked curiously with a hint of excitement.
"I think it's better that I show you instead," Eugeo uncharacteristically smirked as he morphed the Legendary Sword into the Navigation sword form. The Navigation sword was quite a plain and foggy blade, the only special feature was the guard with some kind of triangle shaped device on it with a blue gem at the center.
"Map Projection!" Eugeo proudly activated the sword's Exclusive Ability.
The blue gem shined brightly before a three-dimensional hologram of the Castle Town projected around them! Surrounding the three occupants of the Merchant's tent now was a floating minimized 3D image of the Castle, the "Emiya's Family Menu" restaurant, the Toudou Compound, Erhard's Blacksmith shop, the inns that they previously spent the night in and more in astonishing detail! Another thing that was noticeable was the countless blue dots that is scattered throughout the holographic map, which Eugeo could only guess as the Castle Town's inhabitants.
And at the very center of the map with a highlighted green indicator was the Slave/Monster Merchant's tent where they are currently located.
Alice, Kirin and Beloukas were all starstruck in wonder as Eugeo managed to snap out of his awe and started to manipulate the map. Zooming in, expanding out and going in various directions by moving his hands in specific waves of commands.
"What the heck!"
"How does that even make sense!"
"They were just scraps of paper for crying out loud!"
The three stooges complained and whined like children at the ridiculousness of it all. Deeming the payoff that Eugeo had received to be unfair and unjustified.
Even Naofumi felt slightly put out by this development. Though he's more annoyed by the fact that he missed such an opportunity simply because Eugeo's idea of completing a Weapon series never occurred to him. And to his credit, the Shielder was quick to get over it and simply added it to his growing to-do list. Something the matriarch and heiress were quick to follow suit as this was undoubtedly an invaluable skill for a Hero to have. Both within and without the battlefield.
The other world group was strangely silent by what they just witnessed. But judging by the knowing looks and amused smiles on Kirito, Asuna, Yui and even Alice's faces, they were all keenly aware of the similarity this [Navigation Sword] had to the [Satellite Scan Terminal] of Gun Gale Online.
It was during this time that Eugeo and Kirin sensed that the Shadow had finally left.
'That Shadow is probably going to report this to the Church. Which in turn, will probably try and pass this information to the Bow and Spear heroes,' Alice ventured to take a guess.
The three stooges nodded pretentiously upon hearing this, happy to see that the natural order seemed to be on the verge of fixing itself.
Unfortunately for them however...
'Perhaps, but I have a feeling the Church won't tell them. Not the whole truth at the very least,' Eugeo said in assurance.
'Why?'
'Because they don't want the other Heroes venturing to other countries. King Aultcray and the Church want the three Heroes all to themselves while keeping the Shield Hero from receiving any help from the Demi-Human nations. At most, they will only allow them to absorb the maps of Melromarc, Zeltoble and perhaps Cal Mira. Only unlocking an extremely inferior version of this Map Projection,' Eugeo explained before finally deactivating the holographic map. Surprising Kirin and Beloukas who were both busy in observing the different parts of the now deactivated map.
Upon hearing Eugeo's contradicting words to their pompous expectations, it pretty much sucked the wind out of the three stooges' sails, much to Naofumi's great amusement.
Mirellia and Melty could only nod in sad silence, as they could definitely see their husband/father deciding on such a course of action.
"*Ahem* Well... I have no choice but to admit, that was truly extraordinary. My compliments to you Sir Sword Hero for thinking outside the box and discovering such a useful ability to add to your arsenal," Beloukas complemented.
"Thanks... I guess," Eugeo merely nodding to the man before picking up the egg incubator, "Let's go, Kirin."
With their business completed, the two quickly left.
Eugeo and Kirin decided to simply buy some food and wait for the egg to hatch near the Dungeon that they planned to enter. This way, they can start Level raising the moment the egg hatched. Of course, they would let the hatchling finish its very first meal of its life before going inside. The two passed the time by fighting any monster that dares to attack them. But because they outmatched these monsters so much, they barely get any EXP from them anymore.
It was during lunch when the two swordsman were in the middle of their meal that the egg started shaking.
"Oh!Oh!Oh! Here it comes!" Filo cheered excitedly while hopping in place on her seat, excited to see the little one that will come out of the egg.
The rest of the audience were also eager to see the birth of new life. With some being more overzealous (Mirellia and Melty) while others more perverted (Motoyasu obviously) than others. All of them leaning forward in anticipation for the impending reveal.
'Eugeo! The egg is starting to hatch!' Alice alerted to him.
Sure enough, tiny cracks started to appear on its shell. Eugeo carefully opened up the incubator and held the egg out in front of him, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do. He had never been involved in hatching eggs before in Rulid village and Kirin certainly didn't either.
All of a sudden, the eggshell burst into pieces with a small popping sound. In his hands now was a golden yellow chick, one that was slightly bigger than a newborn chicken with a piece of the egg's shell balanced on top of its head.
The puffy golden creature looked up at him with bright green eyes and gave out the most adorable chirp sound.
"Gueee!"
"It's so CUTE!"'It's so CUTE!' both Kirin and Alice squealed at the sheer adorableness of the hatchling.
Just like Eugeo, the male half of the audience were also subjected with their own share of squeals and croons from the female half for the very same reason.
Even Queen Mirellia wasn't able to restrain herself from breaking out of character, as her great fondness for Filolials had completely overridden her self-control.
"Was I that cute when I first hatched from my egg?!" Filo asked her master in between croons.
"Yes, you were," Naofumi replied as he gave the avian girl a confirmative smile before adding, "Though that Filolial's feathers seemed to be a bit different from yours. Especially the ones on its wings."
With surprising strength, the chick jumped up and decided to perch on top of Eugeo's head. Much to Alice and Kirin's amusement as they watched the hatchling roll around in Eugeo's hair.
"Awwww... Since you're the first person it saw upon hatching, it must think you're it's father," Kirin giggled as she watched the scene unfold.
Nothing but a few soft chuckles and giggles could be heard as almost everyone found the development to be funny. Especially for Raphtalia as she was reminded about Filo's own hatch day. The same could be said for Naofumi, though he did feel a strange mix of fondness and embarrassment over the memory.
Something clicked inside Alice that compelled her to suck both Eugeo and the newborn Filolial inside the Mindscape.
"Ehhh!" Eugeo yelled in slight surprise. While he has grown used to the slight disorientation that he gets whenever Alice brought him into the Mindscape, this was the first time he got sucked in without any warning.
"Guuueeeee!" the little chick suddenly fell from his head in surprise, which Eugeo was quick to catch before it could hit the ground.
In front of the two was Alice walking towards them in her now favored Angel form. Causing the little chick's eyes to widen in awe before deciding to jump towards the young woman's arms for a hug. The newly hatched Filolial immediately imprinting in its young mind that this beautiful, winged lady is its mother!
The girls once again squealed at the sight, even more overwhelmed by the immediate bond the other Filolial now has with the other Alice. The high Queen and Princess even more so. Even the Knight Alice couldn't help but feel a tad bit envious, seeing that her other self has received her own bundle of joy despite the bizarre circumstances.
While the boys weren't as effected by the adorable sight, aside from Kirito (who was leaning over and fondly patting Yui's head) and Motoyasu (who was being a total perv if the look on his face is anything to go by) they were still able to appreciate the wholesome moment.
"Aren't you just the cutest little thing!" Alice squealed as she raised the little chick and rubbed the creature against both sides of her face, the Filolial being more than happy to return the affection. Eugeo watched the scene unfold with a big smile on his face, Alice's happiness is his happiness after all.
Alice soon managed to calm herself down before allowing the hatchling to perch on one of her shoulders before turning to Eugeo, "Sorry if I startled you Eugeo... I just couldn't help myself."
"It's okay... I understand," Eugeo said as he shook his head with a smile before asking, "So what should we name her... or is it him?"
"It's a boy," Alice answered as she picked the little feathered ball of energy from her shoulder and passed him back to Eugeo. "I had some experience in tending newly hatched chickens and other poultries we had back in Rulid village. So, I know these kind of things."
"Is that so..." Eugeo mumbled.
"I didn't know that." Kirito said out loud as he gave Knight Alice a sideways glance.
"It's actually one of the few things that I had to relearn from Selka back when you were still recovering," Alice admitted sheepishly, "I had to pull my own weight around if I wanted to put any food on the table."
"I guess that is something you would have to learn if you live in a rural village," Asuna conjectured in thought.
"Mmmhmm! That is very right mommy!" Yui exclaimed.
Alice took a few moments to think before answering. "Arthur... I always wanted to give an animal companion that name, I just never had the chance to do so. Although it's originally meant to be a dragon's name, I think this name fits this little one just fine."
"Gueee!" the newly named Arthur chirped in approval.
"Arthur huh... Yeah, I think it suits him," Eugeo finalized.
"Arthur huh, that actually sounds appropriate," Naofumi couldn't help but chuckle at the insane coincidence.
"What do you mean by that, Naofumi?" Melty asked upon overhearing the Shielder's comment.
"I too am curious," Queen Mirellia said beneath her unfolded fan, implying that she also wanted to hear what the Shield Hero had to say.
And for once in their Post Summoned lives, the three stooges were actually on the same page with the once disgraced Shield hero. After all, the Legend of King Arthur is just that famous. So famous that it has apparently transcended the boundaries of different dimensions.
"Arthur is the name of the most famous King in history. It doesn't matter if people still argue if he really existed or not. Not a person alive hasn't heard of the Legend of King Arthur." (Naofumi)
"He's also known as the perfect and chivalrous Hero." (Itsuki)
"Not to mention the fact that he's the one and only wielder of the most powerful sword ever, the legendary blade Excalibur." (Ren)
"Not only that, but he also got married to Guinevere, the Fairest of them All." (Motoyasu)
The four heroes chimed in and shared what they knew of the legend behind the name, the Shield Hero not really minding the backseat commentary.
The Queen and Princess were left stunned by what they heard. Just the thought that such a King could ever exist was just too much for words.
Unknown to Naofumi and rest of his world group however, Kirito and his girls were also familiar to the legend behind the name. Especially since a Norse-adapted Excalibur is currently under the ownership of the famous Black Swordsman, so they all decided to stay silent. Not wanting to add any more confusion over their less than orthodox origins.
Behind all of these reactions, commentary and false cluelessness however, Zelretch could only chuckle at the hilarity of his situation. Being the only one who is aware that they actually caught a glimpse of King Arthur's darkest secret without any of them being the wiser. Although he would love to spring the surprise about King Arthur's secret now, Zelretch decided that he would save it for when they reach a much more amusing point of their viewing.
"I'll be sending you back now. You have busy days ahead of you, after all," Alice reminded him before raising a hand above her head in preparation of the command.
Eugeo nodded towards her before exiting the Mindscape.
In the real world, Arthur is back on top of Eugeo's head, looking around in confusion at the sudden change of scenery. Eugeo quickly but gently picked the bird out of his head and placed him in front of the bowl of bird seeds that he had prepared. Which Arthur is quick to start eating in great gusto.
" " " " " " "Aaawwww! He's so cute!" " " " " " "
The females once again squealed at Arthur's overwhelming cuteness. Especially as the hatchling began to messily devour his first meal.
The males were left with another round of ringing ears due to the vocal outburst from the girls but stayed silent.
Kirin, who was completely clueless and wasn't included in the Mindscape conversations asked, "What are you going to name him?"
"Arthur. His name is Arthur," Eugeo answered, triggering his Stacia Window to appear with Arthur's name now being added to his party.
After letting Arthur finish his first meal, Eugeo then started his plan in fast Leveling inside the Dungeon. Eugeo and Kirin taking turns in carrying the small and still defenseless Filolial while the others fought the monsters.
"Now this takes me back," Naofumi chuckled with a warm reminiscing smile.
"It sure does Master Naofumi," Raphtalia smiled as she also looked back at Filo's infancy with great fondness.
The girls cooed at the adorable display. With Yui off-handedly wondering if they would also get to see Filo's own growth period under the Shield Hero's care. Filo herself was a bit sad that she couldn't recall the pampering that she received as a hatchling due infantile amnesia. Not to mention the fact that Filolials didn't have good memory to begin with.
It was a good thing that Alice had the bright idea of absorbing Arthur's eggshell remains since it unlocked:
[Monster Tamer's Sword 1 Unlocked]
[Quality: Low - Base Attack: 20]
[Mastery: 0/50 - Resonance: 0%]
[Equip Bonus: Enhanced Monster Growth]
Level 10 Required
Its function was basically a copy of the Slave User's Sword where it increases the status gains and growth rate of the effected individual for every Level up. Only this one was focused on tamed Monsters, which is their new Filolial Arthur.
"Now that is an incredibly useful skill," Alice said in amazement, imagining how something like that could've helped Amayori's growth during her infancy. She would undoubtedly have become a mount that's unparalleled among the Integrity Knights.
"I wonder how that would've affected Pina if Miss Silica ever unlocked a skill like that?" Yui wondered as an image of a larger and fluffier Pina formed in her head, causing her to giggle at the thought.
Her parents weren't so thrilled by the idea however...
" "That's probably not a good idea..." "
as their minds leaned more on the monstrous Boss Level version that they had encountered back in Ordinal Scale. Kirito and Asuna smiled fondly over their little bundle of joy, having correctly guessed what Yui was most likely imagining.
"I won't deny that it helped me a lot when I was first starting out..." Naofumi confirmed the Knight Alice's conjecture, but also added, "it also comes with its own set of problems though. Especially since we were still a bit short on funds at the time."
"What do you mean by that Sir Naofumi?" Princess Melty asked in confusion, something that everyone else was also curious about.
"I think you're about to find out," Naofumi replied as he diverted their attention back to the screen.
The two days that followed were almost entirely spent in power Leveling. Only returning to the town to sleep or to purchase food for themselves. More so for Arthur who has shown himself to have a massive appetite. It was also during those two days that Eugeo, Alice and Kirin realized firsthand just how rapidly a monster grows when under a Hero's care. Arthur had already grown up from the small hatchling to the size of an adult Filolial in just that short time span, the Monster Tamer's Sword probably helped too.
It also helped when Eugeo experimented with absorbing Arthur's feathers and saliva that he managed to unlock [Monster Tamer's 2] and [Monster Tamer's 3]. With this, Arthur now had the same enhancements that Kirin has whenever he Levels up.
When Eugeo and Kirin tried to ride on Arthur's back, the young Filolial sped off on a speed that was equal to how fast the two can run when using a Speed Enhancement Sacred Art. Eugeo saw this as a method he can use to reach the Rabier Territory much faster than if they travel there by themselves. It was at the sunset of the 2nd day when Arthur suddenly underwent another evolution where he transformed into a larger and rounder version of Filolial.
Upon witnessing Arthur's many growth spurts in such a short amount of time, as well as the unexpected evolution at the end, everyone was able to understand what Naofumi was hinting at. And yes, even the three stooges were able to figure out the issue that comes with an accelerated growth rate.
"Oh, so that's what you meant," Princess Melty giggled in amusement over all the money Naofumi had to spend in order to sate a growing Filolial's appetite.
"All that muscle mass and bone structure had to come from somewhere, I suppose," Queen Mirellia smiled in equal mirth as she hid her smile behind her open fan.
Eugeo and Kirin decided that night that they will camp out in the safer parts of the forest area instead of returning to Castle Town. It was very unlikely that there would be any inns that would allow Arthur to stay because of the Filolial's now larger size. But even that evolution would be considered minor when compared to what would happen to Arthur at the next day.
As usual, Eugeo woke up at the first light of morning since he had always been an early riser. Quietly moving so Kirin could sleep some more while he went outside of the shared tent to prepare their breakfast. It was during the two days of constantly feeding and caring for Arthur that Alice noticed how all those Cooking Stat points that Eugeo amassed after all this time had improved his cooking skills immensely. Which was why cooking duty had now been passed over to him. Eugeo now put all the meat that he'd been getting from slain monsters in the Sword's inventory to good use.
When they were exiting the tent, Eugeo and Alice noticed something wrong when they failed to hear any of Arthur's soft snoring. But their concerns shortly turned to sheer confusion and shock... when they saw a 10 year old boy with golden blond hair, bishounen face and a pair of silver colored wings sleeping stark naked at the very spot where they last saw Arthur!
"HHHUUUHHH?!" Both Eugeo and Alice both yelled in surprise, accidentally waking up Kirin and the sleeping boy.
"HHHUUUHHH?!" (Guys)
"EEEEEHHHHH?!" (Ladies)
"WAH?!" (Yui Filo)
"Mommy! Why are you covering my head with Daddy's long coat?!"
"You too Master?! Why are you keeping Filo from seeing the best part?!"
"Now Yui~. It's still far too soon for a young lady like yourself to see stuff like this~!" (Asuna)
"Your mommy's right! You have to wait for at least 10... No! 15 years before you're ready to even know about this stuff!" (Kirito)
"Mmhmmhmm." (Alice)
The two overbearing parents huddled over their precious daughter while keeping Kirito's black longcoat covered over the little girl's head. Alice firmly nodding in agreement behind the girl's shoulder.
"The same thing goes for you Filo," Naofumi said as he struggled to keep the humanoid Filolial from wriggling her way out of his blinding hold. Raphtalia could only laugh at the young avian's plight.
"Uhhh..."
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on who you ask, the still budding lady Princess Melty was left incoherent by what was displayed on screen. As brief as it may have been, it still gave her a glimpse of that part of a male's anatomy.
"So that's what it looks like..." Needless to say, the bluenette was currently blushing up a storm, struggling to regain her composure.
Meanwhile, her mother the Queen was unsurprisingly unfazed, though if one looks close enough, they would notice the small twitch of amusement at the edge of her lips. Revealing that she purposefully left her daughter to see the male's privates instead of covering her eyes like what the other parental figures did to Yui and Filo. Viewing it as another truth of the world that her heiress would need to get accustomed to.
And behind everyone's back, Zelretch was doing his damndest to suppress his hidden laughter as to not give away his prank of not censoring that scene, just to get a few laughs.
Not wanting to face the wrath of the parents.
Nothing much is needed to be said for the three stooges other than the lamentation of the Spear Hero over not getting another angel girl.
The boy sat up while trying to rub the sleepiness from his eyes when he noticed Eugeo and politely says, "Good morning father. Is it almost time for breakfast? Because I'm starving."
A good deal of chaos and confusion follows as Eugeo had to explain what supposedly happened during the night to Kirin as the swordswoman exited their tent.
Two of the stooges were left baffled by what they were seeing, though that confusion soon turned into humor when they witnessed the chaos the young avian has wrought.
Both on screen and out of it for good measure.
And to the surprise of absolutely no one, the most troublesome of the three stooges had his attention focused on more troublesome subjects. Such as the implication that Naofumi saw Filo in her birthday suit when she first gained her human form. Silently cursing Naofumi's name that the Shielder was given the honor of seeing the angel girl in all her naked glory!
Speaking of an angel girl, now that she had gotten out of her master's grasp after he tried to prevent her from seeing the 'best part', when she saw the face of what was supposed to be her male counterpart, she tilted her head a little in curiosity. She had to say, that he did look pretty handsome even in his human form…
Would she have gotten closer to him if he existed where she was? And what would her master say about him and her 'becoming a couple', as her master and big sis Raphtalia would say, she wondered.
Not really knowing what they're supposed to do, Eugeo materialized one of his spare Shadow cloaks to cover Arthur and his wings up. Then going directly to Beloukas' establishment to get some much-needed answers, while ignoring the murmurs of the townspeople. Some were mindless praises, but some were asking in confusion of what the Sword Hero is doing with a child.
At the Slave/Monster Merchant's tent, Beloukas inspected Arthur in Filolial and Human form, grinning the entire time. The merchant then explained that in the wild, Filolials have a King or Queen that leads each flock. They were also skilled in transforming so they normally disguise themselves as normal Filolials to blend in with the rest.
"Ohhhh, so that's what your kind does when they live in the wild," Yui mumbles in wonder over the given information about her new friend's species, "Does that mean you have a flock of your own that you lead back in your world?"
"Mmhmm, Filo thinks so," Filo answered to her new fairy friend with a nod before adding, "But Filo is still too young to lead the great flock, so Filo was told to wait a few more years before Ieading the flock."
Everyone who wasn't in the know of Filo's official status as Fitoria's successor were left intrigued by what the humanoid Filolial meant. And yes, even the three idiots were curious.
Beloukas tried to convince them to place a stronger Monster Crest to tame Arthur, but Alice strongly, and quite loudly, put her foot down. Mentally declaring to Eugeo that no one is going to place a glorified Slave Crest on their baby! Causing Eugeo to fall on his face at the surprising thought.
"T-Their b-baby!?" Alice stuttered out in incredulous shock, reeling back at the notion of becoming a mother figure all of a sudden. It doesn't matter if this was her other self they were talking about here, it still left her in a fluster.
"Congratulations Aunty Alice!" Yui beamed with joy before realizing something important, "Ohhh! Does that make me a big sister now?!"
The fairy hybrid's words just made the normally composed Knight Alice to get even more flustered, her eyes nearly reduced to swirls and her face gathered heat so much that her face and eyes were very contradicting in terms of their colors as she sputtered and fidgeted over what the little girl is implying.
Kirito and Asuna wisely kept their mouths shut, not wanting to catch the former knight's ire. But it was so obvious that they were barely holding in their laughter over the blonde's new marital status.
Naofumi and Raphtalia were smiling in reminiscence about their chaotic yet fond days of raising Filo while Melty and Mirellia silently cooed at the adorable declaration.
It was also fortunate that the remaining audience (the three stooges) were so distracted from the said declaration that they weren't able to raise a stink about the enhanced Slave Crest.
Though he actually didn't really mind. Becoming Arthur's parents was surprisingly appealing to him, so he accepted the new role with open arms, although with a good dose of embarrassment. Especially since Arthur did resemble a mixture between Eugeo and Alice, possessing Alice's golden hair and Eugeo's forest green eyes.
Leaving a confused Kirin of why the Sword Hero tripped while walking on flat and even ground.
Alice's blushing face has nearly reached nuclear levels of red at how quickly Eugeo accepted fatherhood. Not to mention the fact that Arthur really does appear to be a fusion between her and Eugeo's characteristics. Similar to how Yui truly fits the role of being Kirito and Asuna's daughter despite not being blood related.
Beloukas slightly drooped that he didn't get the additional cash he expected to get. But he quickly bounced back when Eugeo decided to at least pay him for the information before leaving to go ask Erhard for advice. When they entered Erhard's shop, he wasn't busy with any customers.
"Hey Sword boy. What can I..." Erhard paused when he noticed the new addition to Eugeo's party.
Kirin decided to do the explaining, "This little guy's name is Arthur. I don't know if you are going to believe us but he's actually a Filolial King," Arthur then transformed back to his Filolial form to serve as proof. "Apparently, they are very skilled in transforming so they can blend in with the flocks that they normally lead in the wild."
The Blacksmith's eyes widened slightly but stayed relatively calm, "Wow. And I thought those... Royal Filolials, I guess we can call them... are just myths. So, they can transform themselves into humans too? That's nuts."
'I have a funny feeling that Arthur's human form is based on your Angel form. Back when you pulled both of us to the Mindscape so you can meet him,' Eugeo mentally chuckled.
'I think you might be right!' Alice giggled, feeling no guilt at all for this accidental outcome.
This caught the newly minted mother's attention, causing her and her world group to glance at Naofumi for clarification.
"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, especially since that would've been very cute, but that isn't the case here. It's just pure chance that Arthur ended up with that look,"Naofumi said before adding, "Which actually makes his resemblance to you and Eugeo even more shocking if you think about it."
Kirito and his girls could only nod in agreement at the immense coincidence that occurred with Arthur's human form.
As Arthur went ahead and curiously poked at the various weapons and armor that Erhard has in his shop, the others resumed their discussion.
"Your new armor should be done in two days. A bit ahead of schedule since I got really excited in working on all those rare materials you provided," Erhard snickered.
"That's great!" Kirin beamed.
"That's good to hear," Eugeo said with a sigh, "But do you have any... magic clothing I guess... that Arthur can wear? If he keeps ripping his clothes to shreds every time he transforms. I'll eventually be bankrupt."
"Sorry Sword boy but those are special order items, and I don't have any of that. You should go see the magic dressmaker to have her make one for you," Erhard advised before pulling a second hand shirt and pants from under his counter. "Why don't you take this for him to wear for the time being. We can't really have him walking around in the nude now can we."
"As usual, Mr. Erhard is always willing to lend a hand," Raphtalia commented, happy to see the blacksmith being as helpful as always.
"But seriously, does he always have spare kid's clothes lying around in his shop?" Naofumi jested at the bald man's penchant of providing children's clothes at the most convenient of times.
Thanking the man for his help, Eugeo then placed his Mirage belt on Arthur to hide his wings. No matter how someone looks at it, Arthur looked like a bird type Demi-Human. So, to keep the King and the Church from thinking he's a Demi-Human sympathizer and sending a Shadow to keep watch of them, they decided to hide Arthur's wings to appear human. This secret won't last for long, but it would at least delay them for a little while longer. Long enough for him to rescue the majority of the enslaved Demi-Humans without any unexpected Church Shadows following him.
It really confused Eugeo... how the Shadows that they normally sensed watching them have been strangely absent for the last couple of days. The only reason he could come up with is because they were currently busy keeping watch of the other Heroes. So, they should be clueless about Arthur's existence at the moment.
The female dressmaker, who furiously gushed over Arthur's cute handsomeness, directed them to the Magic Shop to create some magic thread from Arthur's own Mana. Something that is required so Arthur's clothes will shift whenever he transforms and not be ripped to shreds. The dressmaker promising that she would make the very best outfit for Arthur once she receives the required thread.
"And of course she would volunteer to do the sewing for Arthur," Naofumi exasperated at the familiar seamstress' antics.
"Well, she did really enjoy making the clothes for Filo. So, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that she'll be happy to make Arthur's clothes too," Raphtalia sweat dropped at the woman's enthusiasm.
At the Magic Shop, they just barely managed to weave the acceptable amount of magic thread before the magic gemstone on the shop's spinning wheel shattered to pieces because of usage. Eugeo and Kirin felt nervous that they somehow broke it but was assured by the old woman that what happened is only natural. She then offered to scan all their magic affinities, which Eugeo was more than ready to accept.
Eugeo apparently has Water, Wind and Healing affinity. Kirin has Dark and Wind affinity. While Arthur has pure Wind affinity, thus making his power over wind stronger than Eugeo and Kirin. After a short discussion, Eugeo and Kirin decided to purchase a Beginner's Grimoire along with a normal book about Magic Potions so Eugeo can get started in learning this world's language and Potion Making during his free time.
"That makes sense. Eugeo has always been partial to ice and healing spells," Kirito comments with a nod, being well aware of his best friend's preferences.
"The same thing goes for Yuuki," Asuna chimed in, "While she prefers to use her sword and almost never uses magic, it still lines up with what the Imp race is known to specialize in."
"And Arthur having a pure wind element is also no surprise," Naofumi added his own two cents, "Probably something all Filolials have in common, much like how dragons are known for their affinity to fire."
"I would believe so Master Naofumi," Raphtalia affirmed, recalling how she herself is also an example of having racial affinities. Raccoon demi-humans being known for illusion magic due to their affinity for Light and Dark.
Thanking the shopkeeper for her help, they left and returned to the dressmaker. The young woman immediately started making Arthur's clothes in a breakneck pace, much to the group's astonishment. When it was just about lunch time, the enchanted clothes were finished.
Arthur exited the dressing room wearing what could only be described as the clothes of a Royal Knight Trainee. Composed mostly of silver and blue accents with some soft leather armor with silver gloves and boots. He also had a black and white hood attached to the back of the armor part of his neck. It didn't have any elaborate designs, so it didn't take as much time as it should have. But its simplicity alone somehow exuded an aura of regality to it.
" "He looks so cute!" " (Asuna and Yui)
" "Very cute and handsome!" " (Raphtalia, Filo and Melty)
"I would say he's quite gallant for someone who's a mere few days old." (Mirellia)
Almost all the girls gushed over the adorable yet striking look the young Filolial was exuding in their own ways. The only exception being Alice herself, as she was now once again all alone in her own little world in her head. The foreign concept of motherhood seemed to be causing quite a stir in her psyche if her curly eyes were anything to go by.
And seeing how dashing Arthur is, Filo wanted to befriend him even more.
"Say, say, master! Does Arthur exist where we come from as well? Can we go find him when we get back? I wanna be a couple with him!" Filo stated. The rest of the audience paused for a moment to process what the youngest member of their group was saying.
"EEEHHHH?!" most of them exclaimed in surprise.
"A cou… ple… where did you learn that word, Filo?!" Raphtaila asked in a flustered tone.
"Huh…? From you and master… isn't that what you call it when two people that like each other get together?" Filo asked innocently.
"Oh… um, well…" the two unofficial 'couple' reacted in a flustered way, almost in sync.
The people who had experience in romantic relationships looked at the two and it was clear that Raphtalia's feelings for Naofumi were obvious to see, but as for the Hero himself, it was a well-known 'secret' that Naofumi also had feelings for Raphtalia as well, but he always claimed that he considered her a daughter if anything. But if you saw how the two reacted now, it would be as if they were an old married couple, with how similarly they were reacting.
Kirito, Asuna, Alice, and Queen Mirellia all thought it was adorable seeing the Shield Hero's party react as they did, as well as find Filo's newfound desire to find their version of Arthur in their world – assuming that he does actually exist.
Zelretch could have added that trying to find Arthur himself in their world would be impossible since their Sword Hero was Ren; not Eugeo. But he ultimately decided not to – one of the reasons being that he too was too amused by the reaction of Naofumi's group.
Although there was one person who was not a fan of this development at all: Motoyasu.
While he did admit that Arthur was indeed adorable, that was exactly the problem!
The girl of his affection, Filo, looked like she was starting to have feelings for this other male Filolial!
He was already in an unfavorable situation as it was since he hadn't been making a good impression on himself to Filo so far – he had to admit that much.
What could he do to make himself look more appealing to Filo? Before she was completely infatuated with that Arthur kid?! He gave a heavy sigh as he thought all this, to the confusion of the ones who didn't know his infatuation with Filo.
And although the rest of the boys weren't as honest about it, they still did appreciate the knightly charm that Arthur displayed on screen. The most expressive among them being Kirito, as he is left happy and proud to see his best friend taking on the responsibilities of fatherhood to Arthur just as he did with Yui.
Everyone praised how good and dashing he looked in his new clothes, thanking the dressmaker and paying her with a hefty tip for a job well done.
After eating their lunch in a forest clearing, with Arthur consuming enough food to satisfy 10 full grown men. Eugeo asked Kirin to spar with Arthur. While Arthur preferred to fight in his true Filolial form, he still needed to learn how to defend himself when he was in human form. Arthur whined a little in complaint but eventually obeyed when Eugeo threatened to stop cooking any of his favorite meals.
"Yup, that will do it," Naofumi chuckled, remembering how the most effective way of coaxing Filo into obedience without using the Slave Crest is by bribing her with good food.
"Not the best way of handling things but..."
"...it should suffice for short term compliance..."
"...at least until he is thought of proper etiquette."
Kirito, Asuna and surprisingly Alice completed each other's sentences, their paternal and maternal instincts currently going into overdrive.
While Kirin and Arthur sparred, Eugeo decided to analyze his progress as he drew the letter (S) on his palm and opened his Stacia Window to check what Weapon form he could now use Enhance Armament with.
Eugeo Zuberg - Level 40
Kirin Toudou - Level 37
Arthur - Level 25
Available Enhance Armaments:
Aquarion Blade
Illusionary Sword
Valkyrie's Blade
'Huh'
"Three Enhance Armaments?!"
"Wow, that Legendary Sword must be really something if it can accelerate Eugeo into using three Enhance Armaments in less than a month!"
Alice and Kirito were the most vocal about this reveal as Asuna and Yui weren't as familiar with Underworldian norms. Though they were quick to realize that what Eugeo achieved was far from ordinary and played along with their surprised facial expressions.
Naofumi and the other Heroes were just about to question them when a simple "Ahem!" from Zelretch made everyone pause. That simple gesture was enough to convey to them that the answers were just about to be shown and they should just sit back and watch.
Eugeo thought in confusion, 'I can somewhat understand why I can use Enhance Armament with the Valkyrie's Blade. It's something you and I have special connection with because of the chance some members of the Three Heroes Church are simply being forced to follow orders. The same way the Axiom Church did with you and the rest of the Integrity Knights back in our home world.'
'That is true... but I think you're underestimating your connection with the other two blades,'Alice replied as she gave her explanation,'Remember that the Aquarion Blade was a gift you gave to Kirin at your very first day as the new Hero of the Sword, so it symbolizes the bond the two of you have forged until now. The Illusionary Sword on the other hand, is the sword that you plan to use to free all the poor Demi-Humans who are under Slavery. Although it's currently stagnant, the connection you have with all the nameless people that you plan to save with that specific blade is enough to raise your Resonance to an acceptable level.'
'I... didn't realize that Resonance in this world works that way. I guess achieving Perfect Weapon Control is simply easier in this world. Or maybe the Legendary Sword is doing something that makes it easier?' Eugeo mentally chuckles, 'But I guess I should just be happy that I have not one but three Enhance Armaments that I can use when the situation calls for it. Although at my current strength, I can only do it two times in a single day. Three times is pushing it since I might get knocked unconscious because of the SP and MP drain. Drinking SP and MP potions afterwards to recover might help, but doing so multiple times could damage my body because of the strain.'
"Ohhhhh..." (Motoyasu)
"So that's why." (Itsuki)
"I gotta say, even though they're powerful, these 'Enhance Armaments' come with their owns sets of problems," Ren nodded in understanding, though unfortunately, it was more of him lining this up with plain old gamer's logic (simply concluding it as just the game's way of preventing power creeping) instead of tampering it with common sense.
A mentality that was unfortunately also shared by the two other stooges to some degree.
"Only being able to use it for 2 to 3 times a day before dropping due to exhaustion is dangerous to say the least. And not only that, but the fact that each 'Enhance Armament' needs to be linked with a strong personal connection for them to be usable," Naofumi said as he analyzed the information that was given to them with much better thought than the three stooges.
As the four Heroes pondered over which one of their Weapon Forms could've already met the requirements, Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty were busy jotting down notes. Writing down everything that they'd learned so far so as to not miss a single detail when they eventually review and compile all this information later on.
And while nothing was uttered between Raphtalia and Filo, they were in silent agreement that their master most likely already has one of those "Enhance Army thingies" as Filo would later call them.
Closing the Stacia Window with a satisfied smile, Eugeo then spent the next hour practicing how to use the Illusionary Sword efficiently. Since he won't be able to see the blade and the trajectory of where it goes when he swings it, he NEEDED to train hard to be proficient enough to use it. After getting a decent enough control, Eugeo decided that they should practice their teamwork inside the Dungeon for the next couple of hours.
" "That would've been really cool." "
Kirito and Ren both commented jealously at the exact same time. Catching the two and the rest of the audience off guardon just how in sync they were at that particular moment.
Although the bewilderment didn't last for long, as almost all of the viewers simply dismissed it as a coincidence, the mother and daughter pair of Asuna and Yui weren't so easily deterred. Both of them now having trouble in unseeing the similarity the two bishounens had with each other.
And while Yui found it hilarious and wanted to tease her daddy and Mr. Ren about it when she gets the chance, Asuna was a bit of a mixed bag. Unsure if she should feel amused or relieved that her husband was able to grow out of his Solo-player mentality.
Yes, Kirito had his relapses, the Death Gun incident being a perfect example, but those times were of extreme cases where he went on his own simply because he wanted to protected them.
Ren, on the other hand – as she had felt earlier – seemed be like a version of Kirito who never got over his loner tendencies, not having anyone like Asuna to bring him out of his shell.
She found this to be quite concerning indeed – if something similar to the Moonlit Black Cats incident would occur to Ren in his present state… she didn't want to think about how Ren would react to such a loss… Kirito was somehow able to endure it, but could the same be said for Ren?
The sun was just starting to set when the trio exited the Dungeon. But then, the blue gem on the Legendary Sword started blinking.
'Someone is trying to contact you via the Crystal Orb form,' Alice reported.
Eugeo quickly transforms the sword into the Orb sword and activated the function. Kirin and Arthur came closer to hear what the caller had to say, at least in Kirin's case. Arthur on the other hand, simply wanted to admire the pretty and shiny magic orb instead of listening to the possibly important message.
Inside the Orb sword soon shifts and forms the beautiful face of Lady Aoi.
"Greetings Lady Aoi," "Hello mother," the sword duo greeted to the caller.
"Always a pleasure to hear from you two, even in this form. But I'm afraid I bring dire news. Is the area you are in secure?" Lady replied with a grim expression. Eugeo and Kirin didn't sense any of the Church's Shadows all day but decided to cast the Silencing Sacred Art just to be on the safe side.
"The area is now secured mother; you can speak freely now," Kirin assured.
"Good. Now if the two of you truly plan to save the Demi-Human slaves that are under Idol Rabier, you need to save them tonight!" Lady Aoi declared in great urgency.
Hearing the name of that despicable man caused everyone in the Shield Hero's party's mood to drop, differing degrees of anger exuding from each of them as well as the Queen and princess as they realized where this was going. But none more so than Raphtalia as the counterpart of her already dead tormentor was now being shown to be up to something so bad that even the normally composed Lady Aoi was asking for urgency in the rescue.
Kirito and his girls (along with the three stooges) were a bit baffled by the level of killing intent that was being aimed at this Idol person. But their questions were quickly answered by what the onscreen Shadow said next.
"Why?"
"That despicable man is throwing a party tonight and he plans to bring out a great number of his slaves to serve as their entertainment," Lady Aoi's beautiful face crinkled in disgust. "While Idol Rabier enjoys the screams his slaves make when he tortures them with a whip. I'm pretty sure a few of his guest would want to make them scream for a different reason."
While Arthur remained clueless of what the Lady in the shiny ball is trying to convey, Eugeo and Kirin understood the hidden message and they didn't like it one bit!
It should come to no one's surprise that the anger and animosity that was permeating from before just went up to boiling levels of hate as Kirito his girls and even the three stooges joined in at the glaring.
And that's despite Yui and Filo not understanding what the double meaning meant! (And Yui not being able to access the internet to look up what the figure of speech is.) Even the great Queen herself couldn't suppress her fury as another piece of information from the Shadow came to light.
"Arthur! Transform right now! We are going to crash a party and we can't be late!" Eugeo orders his adopted son before turning back to the Clan Head, "Thank you so much for your quick response. I will be on my way to Rabier's Territory right now."
"You're very welcome. Now hurry before it's too late! Not many Demi-Humans can manage to survive a long night of physical and emotional torture!" Lady Aoi urgently said before cutting the link.
Eugeo and Kirin quickly switched to the modified Shadow clothes that they received from Ayane. Turning to the now transformed Filolial Arthur, Eugeo ordered with an extremely serious expression, "When we get close to our destination, we will leave you at an obscured location while Kirin and I rescue the victims. Under no circumstances that you will follow us inside unless we call for you! If you do... I guarantee that you will be sooooo sick to your stomach that you'll BARELY be able to eat anything for an entire month! ! !"
"Y-Yes father! I understand perfectly, father!" Arthur trembled in fear. Not in fear of his daddy but fearing the prospect of not being able to enjoy any kind of food for a whole month! Not being able to enjoy daddy's good cooking for such a long period of time was simply the highest level of torture! ! !
Despite the tense atmosphere, that small bout of innocent bantering actual did a good job in dispersing some of the hostility. Bringing a smile to some and a few giggles from others.
Especially after it was established early on by Filo and Arthur's behaviors that Filolials are highly susceptible to food bribery.
Kirin then activates her Mirage belt. With a poof of smoke, the Toudou heiress was replaced with a Demi-Human Hakuko with milky white with a hint of purple skin, lustrous and gorgeous, long, dark-purplish hair, tiger ears and tail, red eyes and a beautiful but mischievous face.
Eugeo quickly retrieved the Mirage belt from Arthur and followed suit. With a poof of white smoke, in the Sword Hero's place was also a Hakuko, but with slightly long but neat black and white hair, tiger ears and tail, black eyes and a handsome yet very effeminate face.
Eugeo Zuberg and Kirin Toudou are gone...
...in their place are Kirito and Yuuki of the Hakuko Clan.
It goes without saying, that both Kirito and Asuna were left speechless by the disguise that their best friend and sister figure chose. Asuna even more so, as this was another proof that a piece of Yuuki Konno still lives on within Kirin Toudou.
And while a few of the audience were also a loss for words, the rest of them were more curious on what the now disguised pair planned to do next. Queen Mirellia's following words pretty much summed up what they were all thinking.
"Looks like things are about to get interesting."
In the far background however...
'Oh you poor unfortunate souls,' Zelretch could only snicker to himself as he prepared the last memory before they have their first intermission,'Though just to be on the safe side, time to put up those censors.'
Author's Note:
Regrettably, just like before, the next chapter of BRSH won't be coming for quite a while since I'm incredibly busy with work IRL. I finally landed on a job that is actually pretty good all things considered despite the salary being on the lower side due to me being classified as a fresher. But because of this, I barely have any free time to fully commit in my passion in Fanfiction writing. So I wish for all of you dear readers' to be patient and understanding of my current situation.
As always, thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm open for compatible suggestions and any advice that you readers could give. As for those nasty Reviewers who loves to Insult us authors, please just leave us alone.